Reduction of modal noise in step-index fiber bundles

A step-index fiber bundle utilized in communicating optical Gigabit Ethernet signals from multiple Gigabit Ethernet optical transceiver interfaces directly to an array of Gigabit Ethernet receivers and lasers integrated on an optoelectronic-VLSI chip, with the step-index fibers in the bundle having core sizes between 50 um and 60 um to facilitate the fabrication of the bundles. The step-index fiber is selected to exhibit a numerical aperture between 0.19 and 0.25 to cooperate with a standard Gigabit Ethernet 50 um graded-index fiber jumper between each individual transmitter interface and the fiber bundle, and with a standard Gigabit Ethernet 62.5 um graded-index fiber jumper between each individual receiver interface and the corresponding integrated laser in ensuring that substantially all of the light coupled from each transmitter interface is collected by the corresponding step-index fiber and delivered to the corresponding detectors on the optoelectronic-VLSI chip and so that substantially all of the light coupled into the step-index fiber from the integrated lasers is collected and delivered to the corresponding individual receiver interface.